Svedjebergsfäst, a fortification from 1913 that is abandoned but that preserves its cannons

@ElentirENG ES 9·22·2023 · 23:26 0

In many European countries, even those that were neutral during the two world wars, there are many old artillery batteries.

Sweden: He find a trapdoor in an old cabin and end up in an artillery battery
Kvarven Fort: an artillery battery that took part in a brief World War II combat

Today some of these batteries are preserved as museums. Others have been abandoned, and in many cases their cannons were removed. The case of the fortification of Svedjebergsfäst (also known as Svedjefortet), in Sweden seems to be a mixture of both. This coastal artillery position, consisting of two batteries, was built between 1911 and 1913 at a time when tensions in Europe were rising. This position was built at Svedjeberget, near Boden, against possible Russian attacks in the Gulf of Bothnia.

The Svedjebergsfäst was active during both world wars, during which Sweden was a neutral country. Initially it was equipped with six 84 mm Bofors model 1894 cannons, pieces designed to be used in field artillery and which still retained their classic wheels to be towed. In the 1930s these old guns were replaced by more modern 75 mm Bofors M/00-17 guns, in fixed positions, in addition to adding four anti-aircraft guns.

A few days ago, the YouTube channel Simply Adventure published an interesting video touring the interior of this battery and showing its cannons(the video is in German, you can activate the automatic subtitles in English in the bottom bar of the player):

You can see some screenshots from the video here. Here we can see one of the 75 mm Bofors M/00-17 guns.

The same Bofors M/00-17 cannon seen from the inside. It is in good condition, although it does not have the closure.

A model of the fortification. As seen in the video, the Svedjebergsfäst has signs indicating that it was converted into a museum, but it feels like it has been abandoned. A shame.

One of the old 84 mm Bofors model 1894 cannons that originally equipped this battery. The video shows two cannons like this one, on their typical field artillery gun carriages.